Synology America May 17 launched the DiskStation DS210+, a secure NAS server
aimed at small to medium-size business users designed to share and back up
data. The company claims the DS210+ is ideal for users who require a reliable
data storage solution and high-performance file sharing.
The small form factor and its encryption ability make it
well-suited for mobile or branch offices to have on-site storage and features
while maintaining a connection to data at headquarters, Synology said.

The DS210+ delivers average 108.5M-bps reading and 58M-bps writing speeds under
RAID 1 configuration in a Windows environment, according to the company's
Website. It is equipped with an encryption engine, which offloads the
encryption calculation task away from the main CPU, helping to improve file
transfer speeds of the DiskStation. The DS210+ also offers a centralized backup
target to consolidate fragmented and unstructured data across the network.

Integrating into a current network structure and compatible with Windows, Mac
and Linux systems, the DS210+ provides the office data redundancy and
protection. PC users can back up their data to the Synology DS210+ using the
free Synology Data Replicator software, while Mac OS X users can employ native
Apple Time Machine integration. A backup wizard is also provided for backing up
data in the DS210+ to another Synology DiskStation or any server via an
encrypted transmission, or to an external hard drive via USB
or eSATA connection.

Running the Synology software DiskStation Manager 2.3 (DSM 2.3), the Synology
DiskStation DS210+ offers features like Web Station, which allows for the
hosting of up to 30 Websites on a single Synology DS210+, while Mail Station
turns a Synology DS210+ into a mail server. File Station 3 and encrypted FTP
servers help simplify remote access, and Surveillance Station 4 safeguards
property with a centralized surveillance interface for IP cameras. Live video
feeds from connected IP cameras can be accessed from anywhere with an Apple
iPhone with Synology's free DS cam app.

"The Synology DS210+ provides users with a secure network-attached storage
solution that protects data while allowing performance to remain high," said
Rosiel Lee, product manager for Synology. "The Synology DS210+ is equipped with
a 256-bit AES hardware encryption engine that can offload the security
encryption tasks away from the main CPU, helping to improve file transfer
speeds of the DiskStation. The Synology testing lab shows that the hardware
encryption engine boasts reading speed that is about 200 faster than a pure
software encryption."

New features include share-level encryption, backup to the cloud with Amazon S3
and remote backup, while HTTPS, a built-in firewall and IP auto-block support
help ensure file sharing over the Internet is protected. DiskStations are
designed and developed with energy efficiency in mind. Compared with the
average PC counterparts, the company said the DS210+ consumes a relatively low
amount of power at 30 watts only in operation. The support of Wake on LAN/WAN,
scheduled power on/off and hard drive hibernation can further reduce power
consumption and operation cost.

Nathan Eddy is Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com. Before joining eWEEK.com, Nate was a writer with ChannelWeb and he served as an editor at FierceMarkets. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.